Pop Rocks: Do We Even Want Carrie Fisher In The New Star Wars Movie?

And with that, Larry Clark was never asked to direct another Star Wars movie.

The new J.J. Abrams-helmed, Disney approved Star Wars movie is still a couple years off, but that hasn't stopped some of the original cast from chiming in about the possibility of a reappearance:

We're still years away from the next Star Wars movie, but rumors are already flying about the original trilogy's cast and their potential involvement in the sequel trilogy. Mark Hamill noted hopefully that LucasFilm is talking to the original actors. Harrison Ford, meanwhile, apparently did not turn down the idea right away, and "shrugging indifference" is practically a resounding endorsement in Fordland. Now, the third member of the original Power Trio has sounded off about her involvement. Palm Beach Illustrated asked Carrie Fisher if she'd reprise her role as Princess Leia in Star Wars: Episode VII. The actress responded -- simply, but firmly -- "yes."

Huh, Ford was indifferent. What a shock that the 4th biggest (domestic) grossing actor of all time would be ambivalent about returning. Hamill and Fisher have been more of a mixed bag, success wise.

Fisher's response should be taken with several boulders of salt. Any plot information about the upcoming sequel is speculation at best, and Fisher at one point insisted she'd appear in the prequels (which technically she did, I guess, being born at the end of Revenge of the Sith). More to the point, do we even really want the original cast to appear in the new Star Wars movies?

The studio itself didn't seem very enthusiastic about the idea:

When contacted by EW, a rep for LucasFilm responded, "We haven't made any announcements about casting." For her part, Fisher offered that Leia was "in an intergalactic old folks' home...she would be just like she was before, only slower and less inclined to be up for the big battle."

It's just as well the new Disney movies won't be using any pre-published material, because Fisher obviously hasn't read any of the Extended Universe books, many of which are quite Leia-intensive. Short version: Han and Leia get married; Leia becomes a Jedi (like her father, and brother); she and Han have three kids, one of whom (Jacen) becomes the Sith Lord Darth Caedus; she and Han go on to adopt their granddaughter Allana to protect her from her dad. Point being, at no point is she ever in an "intergalactic old folks' home."

Again, if Abrams and company are going with new storylines, that doesn't necessarily rule out Fisher, Ford, et. al., but I hope it does. And why is that?

Because We Should Let Sleeping Trilogies Lie
We had 28 years and six movies to tell the story of the rise and fall of Anakin Skywalker (and the Sith Lords from Mars Coruscant). And as much as we love the Original Trilogy, future connections to that arc should be tangential at best. Abrams and Disney should take inspiration, if not direct ideas, from other works like Karen Traviss' Republic Commando series, Michael Stackpole's Rogue Squadron, or Brian Daley's decidedly non-canonical Han Solo Adventures.

Because They're All "Too Old For This Shit"
70-year old Harrison Ford went way past his "action star" sell-by date in 2006's Firewall and left most of the heavy lifting -- unfortunately -- to Shia LaBoeuf in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Hamill is 61 years old, and built about what you'd expect for a 61-year old, which is great for middle management, not so much for reliving Jedi glory. And even though Fisher is a relatively youthful 56, I'm surprised she can even walk after her much-publicized battles with drug addiction. I can't speak for anyone else, but I'd rather remember my Star Wars heroes looking out triumphantly (if a little sheepishly) over the forest moon of Endor, not hobbling out for what would amount to a glorified cameo.